By: Chad J. Sullivan
House Enrolled Act (HEA) 1617, which aims to increase workforce development by clarifying Indiana’s mineral rights laws, was recently signed into law by Governor Mike Pence.
Attorneys in Jackson Kelly’s Evansville, Indiana office helped draft HEA 1617 as a way to help clarify Indiana law by allowing a developer to harvest mineral rights on a plot of land where the owner is unknown or if initial action to find the owner is unsuccessful. The entire industry will benefit from the new law which now allows developers to go to court to create an established lease for mineral rights so that production can continue rather than stopping during the process.
The legislation also allows for a lease and procedure to be created so that unknown mineral owners are correctly compensated if or when they come forward with proof as the mineral rights owner within seven years. Click here for a press release relating to the legislation.
This article was authored by Chad J. Sullivan, Jackson Kelly PLLC.